Ospreys Under-16 Head Coach David Jones and his coaching team have confirmed a 31 man squad for the forthcoming season, as well as a further 10 players who have been granted development member status.
To get to this stage, the players have had to go through a lengthy elimination process which began six months ago, when the three district squads from within Ospreylia were invited to the region's Llandarcy HQ for a series of weekly training sessions under the watchful eye of the Ospreys age-grade coaching staff. More than 120 players took part in these sessions, and following a trial at the end of April, this number was reduced to 65.
This smaller group then took part in a series of regular training sessions until a final trial at Pencoed College last weekend prior to a meeting between Academy and Age-Grade staff to decide on the make up of the Under-16 squad for the coming season.
Andrew Millward, Regional Performance Development Manager at the Ospreys commented:
"It's been a lengthy process of elimination to get to this point, and the one thing to say is that the general standard of talent we have in the region at under-16 level is very encouraging. We went into this process with a very open mind, we certainly didn't have a set figure as a limit, we were simply looking for anyone who was deemed to have the ability to play regional age-grade rugby.
"We wanted to keep the numbers higher, to ensure that as many players as possible were getting quality coaching. Obviously, the problem with this is that players need to play and there is only a limited amount of game time in the age grade competition. Everyone named in the squad will be involved in games at some stage and will be exposed to a higher level of rugby, but anyone not involved in a match day 22 will be expected to train and play with their district side, which is an extremely important part of the player development pathway. Likewise, the players who missed out on the squad will be encouraged to return to the districts and continue to work hard as we will continue to monitor the district squads. Anyone displaying the right ability and attitude will have the opportunity to step up, the naming of this squad is not a closed door to those not in it."â¬Â
Ospreys Under 16 Squad :-
BACKS:-
RHYS WILLIAMS (SWANSEA)
ROSS MORIARTY (SWANSEA)
JOSH WHITE (BRIDGEND) Development Member
LUKE THOMAS (AFAN NEDD) Development Member
JETHRO MENDOLA BYATT (AFAN NEDD) Development Member
JASPER ROBERTS (LLANDOVERY COLL) Development Member
LEWIS SALTER (BRIDGEND)
RYAN EVANS (AFAN NEDD)
BEN ROBERTS (SWANSEA)
RHYS THOMAS (BRIDGEND)
COREY MORGAN (AFAN NEDD)
SAM M DAVIES (AFAN NEDD)
DAVID SKONE (SWANSEA)
SAM DAVIES (SWANSEA)
BEN THOMAS (BRIDGEND)
JOSH EVANS (AFAN NEDD)
ASHLEY EVANS (AFAN NEDD) Development Member
GARETH LINDENBURN (BRIDGEND) Development Member
JOHN PREDDY (SWANSEA) Development Member
COURTNEY DAVIES (AFAN NEDD)
WILL BATCUP (SWANSEA)
FORWARDS:-
MARCUS DAVIES (AFAN NEDD)
NICKY SMITH (SWANSEA)
NICKY THOMAS (SWANSEA)
SEAN McDONNELL ROBERTS (SWANSEA)
TOM LODWIG (BRIDGEND) Development Member
EVAN YARDLEY (BRIDGEND)
SCOTT OTTEN (SWANSEA)
CRAIG EVANS (SWANSEA)
DEWI PARRY (BRIDGEND)
RHYS TAYLOR MORGAN (AFAN NEDD)
RHODRI HUGHES (SWANSEA)
ROSS COOPER (BRIDGEND) Development Member
MILES MURPHY (SWANSEA) Development Member
TOM OWEN (BRIDGEND)
MATTHEW JENKINS (AFAN NEDD)
KIEREN MATTOCKS (AFAN NEDD)
RHYS LEONARD (SWANSEA)
ANDREW WAITE (BRIDGEND)
ROB DUDLEY-JONES (SWANSEA)
LLOYD WILSON (BRIDGEND)
NICK EDWARDS (AFAN NEDD) Development Member